Robert C. McLeod

Members do a very good job of pointing out the fact that these radio stations may be needed during an emergency and I’m reminded of the federal program. We don’t know the details yet. It replaces the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program. There is some funding that should help with this. We don’t know if it would fit the criteria. Once we know the details and if community radio stations who would issue warnings qualified for this, we would be sure that we will try as a department to access some of this money to assist some of these communities to upgrade their radio stations. Thank you, Mr...

Mr. Speaker, again, it would be an initiative of the community to come forward to us with what their plans are. We can’t put a plan together and go to the communities and say this is what you’re going to do. We leave a lot of the final decision-making up to the community, and when they do that, then we will do what we can to assist them in any way we can.

There are a number of youth programs that we do offer. Maybe their initiative will fit into one of these programs. We don’t know that until they come to us and say this is our plan, how can you assist us, and we’ll go from there. Thank you, Mr...

I would suggest that the community determine whether it’s a priority. I mean, we’ve obviously given them capital infrastructure money. Also, once their youth centre is completed, then there is some other money through the Youth Centre Initiative that they would be able to access. I believe it’s $500,000 that is available to all the youth centres that apply. In 2012-13 I think we had 36 successful applicants. So, basically, everyone that applies gets approved for a portion of that $500,000. So the support is there. Again, at the end of the day, it would be a decision made by the community.

Obvio...

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I will commit to the Member that we will gather some information and report back to the Member and Members of this House. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Monfwi, that Bill 14, An Act to Repeal the Pawnbrokers and Second-Hand Dealers Act, be read for the first time. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

I will commit to having a conversation with my colleague in Education, Culture and Employment. Again, $7,000 was the figure I’d heard, and I’ve also committed to the Member that I will check the criteria of some of the money we allocate to the community to see if any of this qualifies under the money we supply to the community. Again, we are looking at $7,000 which may not seem like a lot and would be very important to have that service established again in not only the Member’s community but all the other communities where they rely on the local radio stations. Thank you, Mrs. Speaker.

Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. My understanding is, and I would have to confirm it, but the radio station may have been down before the flood. I will have to confirm that.

I’m not sure if it would fit into any of our programs. Again, I would have to do a little bit of exploring and see if something like this would fit into one of our programs, whether the community may have the ability with the money that they receive from MACA – one of my favourite lines and I know you guys are getting tired of it, but it’s one I keep using. I’m not sure if that falls under the criteria where they may have...

Mr. Speaker, we would have to explore that further. The Member is asking about a youth centre and now a youth centre on the land, so we would have to explore that a bit more.

I must comment again that the community takes the initial initiative. They approach us; we assist in any way possible, and then we can go from there. But we’d have to explore that a little further. I’m sure this would apply to a youth centre on the land. I would have to look into that and relay that to the Member. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The community of Fort Good Hope could do as some of the other communities across the Northwest Territories have done. Through their capital infrastructure money that they receive through MACA, they’ve determined that a youth centre is one of the priorities in their community. Therefore, the community has taken it upon themselves to build that community youth centre, and as the Member mentioned, there is a number of communities that have done an excellent job in putting some good projects on the ground.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Along with my colleague from Inuvik Boot Lake, I want to offer my congratulations to those that are graduating from high school in Inuvik, the first graduating class of the new East Three School, which may have some challenges but the students surely enjoy it.

Also, he talked about the learning centre completion ceremony, and it’s always one ceremony that I never have an opportunity to make because we’re normally in session. But it’s a very important ceremony because many of these students have left school, they’ve gone back and got their grades upgraded and then they...